1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a roll housing on an agricultural machine. More specifically it relates to a compression roll housing on a harvesting machine, for example, a forage harvester. The invention also relates to a method of mounting and/or removing rolls to/from a compression roll housing.
2. Description of Related Art
A forage harvester has a front attachment which includes a front cutter and a mechanism for feeding the cut crop to compression rolls where it is compressed. The compressed crop is then fed to a further part of the machine where it is cut by cutters before being fed into a discharge chute.
The compression rolls which each comprise a drum and a shaft are contained within a compression roll housing. Typically, three sets of rolls are arranged in pairs, each set having an upper and lower roll so that the crop is fed and compressed between each set. The housing comprises apertures so that the rolls can be mounted within the housing with the shafts protruding through the apertures. The shafts of the upper set of rolls are mounted within curved longitudinal apertures which extend vertically down the sides of the housing.
A compression roll housing typically comprises an upper and a lower panel which are connected by welding, or other permanent connection means to two opposing side panels. The front and rear ends of the housing are left open for connection to a front attachment and further part of the machine respectively.
The shafts of the upper rolls are also attached to two carriers and the carriers are pivotably mounted to the roll housing.
It is very awkward to mount the upper rolls to the roll housing and attach them to the carriers and to attach the carriers to the roll housing. Therefore, it is desirable to pre-assemble the upper rolls to the carriers before mounting the upper rolls and carriers to the roll housing.
When it is necessary to mount or remove upper rolls and carriers from the housing, for example, for repair or exchange, the upper panel of the housing may be removed and a crane used to lift the upper rolls to/from the housing. Given that the upper panel may be permanently connected to the two side panels this can be difficult and time consuming. Further, since the driver's cabin on a forage harvester is situated above the roll housing, it is not always practical to use a crane to access the housing within the machine and as such the whole housing must be removed from the forage harvester in order to remove or mount the upper rolls and carriers.
It may be possible to access the upper rolls sideways through the side panels but this is not simple because the side panels are attached to other parts of the housing and therefore the carriers have to be disassembled to ensure that only the rolls are moved through apertures in the side panels. Since the front wheels of a forage harvester restrict access from the side of the machine, the complete housing is often removed from the machine to enable a roll to be removed/fitted to the housing.
To remove the housing from the machine, mount and/or remove a roll in the housing and then replace the housing back onto the machine is very time consuming.